Resident confronts burglary suspect

STOCKTON - A 63-year-old man tried to hold a burglar at gunpoint but the man got away.

The man told police that, as he was taking out the garbage about 10:35 a.m. in the 100 block of East Clay Street, he noticed a shopping cart in his backyard and his locked garage door open.

He went inside and saw a man carrying a ladder out of his garage, so he grabbed a phone to call police and his .22-caliber rifle to try to hold the burglar.

He told the burglar to get on the ground several times, but the man told the victim, "I'm gonna kill you" and took several steps toward the victim, who shot into the ground about four times.

The burglar got away on foot. He is described as a black man in his late 40s to early 50s with a black beard with some gray in it, standing 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 150 to 160 pounds. He was wearing a green puffy hooded jacket and faded blue jeans.